Biscuits

[AestheticDeath]

Share your recipe. My father has tried a couple times recently and he can't come up with something he likes. They tend to me small/flat etc.

He wants something like the Grands biscuits that come in the can, and are freaking ginormous...

If anyone has the Grands recipe somehow, please share that!

[Amber]

Grands biscuits knock-off recipe

2 C all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1T sugar
1/3 cup COLD butter (butter flavored shortening or margarine will work)
1 C milk

Mix dry ingredients.
Cut in shortening.
Add milk about 1/8 cup at a time. Once you've added close to 3/4 of a cup, add in by tablespoons. Once dough has pulled away from the side of the bowl, add one last tablespoon. Somedays 3/4 of a cup of milk is sufficient, others the whole cup is needed. It all depends on the humidity.
Knead just a couple of times, but don't overdo it or the biscuits will turn out tough.

For extra big, fluffy biscuits, wrap dough in greased aluminum foil at this point and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight. This gives the baking powder time to work. This step is not essential but does give fluffier biscuits.

When ready to cook, heat oven to 425.
Place dough on floured surface and pat (don't knead) flat.
Cut with floured cutter or round glass.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet. For softer outside, place so that they're touching each other, for crisper outside, place farther apart.
Bake 10-13 minutes.

[ElvenFury]

Knead just a couple of times, but don't overdo it or the biscuits will turn out tough.
Yeah, this. Your old man is probably just working the dough too hard, which makes glutten, and glutten will make them tough and chewy.

/Alton Brown

[Asha]

This is where we have a completely different meaning for something over here going on the ingredients you just mentioned.

[ElvenFury]

This is where we have a completely different meaning for something over here going on the ingredients you just mentioned.
Alright, you crazy foreigner, it's time to play "NAME THAT BAKED GOOD!"

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/files/uploads/muffin2.jpg
http://www.seriouseats.com/images/20090513-english-muffin.jpg
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/biscuit.jpg
http://lisasamson.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/deepfried.jpg

[Kuyuk]

Yeah, this. Your old man is probably just working the dough too hard, which makes glutten, and glutten will make them tough and chewy.

/Alton Brown

Gluten? ;-)

[WRoss]

Alright, you crazy foreigner, it's time to play "NAME THAT BAKED GOOD!"

1) Muffin

2) English muffin

3) Biscuit

4) Fried Mushrooms?

[Archigeek]

First off, kneading the dough does not make gluten. Gluten is already there, as it is found naturally in almost all forms of flour, unless it is deliberately removed. That's kind of a technicality though, as Elvenfurry is correct that kneading the batter does make it into dough. What kneading does, is align the gluten strands and make the end product more uniform for lack of a better term. It can also, when you're actually making bread, break down the gluten structure when you're re-kneading, which is sometimes called for, but never in biscuits.

Biscuit "dough" should really be more like batter in my oppinion. You should not knead it at all, and you shouldn't even over-mix it. In fact, my favorite types of biscuits are what are called "drop" biscuits. You just make the batter, scoup it out with a spoon and plop it on the sheet pan. Think of biscuits as a closer cousin to pancake batter than to bread dough.

One key way to make good biscuits, is to add the cold butter referenced in Amber's recipe. You need to do it right though, and here's how you do it and how/why it works:

What the butter does, (and I wouldn't use margarine or shortning for biscuits), is that it creates steam pockets when it melts away. This is a similar principle to how you make croissants. What makes a croissant light and fluffy? It's the fact that about a tablespoon of freakin butter is folded in cold, and thereby remains separate from the flour. Croissants are basically like the folded steel of a katana, except the layers are butter and flour. If the butter warms up and melts it disolves into the dough and you've ruined it, and you're going to get something relatively hard, not light and flaky. The same applies to biscuits, except it's way easier to make biscuits. I think the best way to do it that I've found, comes from a recipe on epicurious.com for cheese and herb biscuits, (which are really great by the way). In that recipe, you freeze the whole stick of butter, and then grate it with a cheese grater, right over your flour mixture. It's a bit cumbersome, but you get nice, small pieces of frozen butter that won't disolve into your dough. The other thing you can do is basically the same thing, but just pare off little pieces of cold butter with a knife. In either case, you want to gradually, but quickly, evenly distribute the butter pieces into the flour BEFORE you add the other wet ingredients. This way they get coated with flour and thereby stay separated, which is exactly what you want. You need to work fast, for the same reason. Grate/pare some of the butter into the flour, then mix it in lightly so it's evenly distributed, then grate/pare some more, etc. continuing until it's all nice and evenly distributed in the flour. Then proceed with your recipie. Biscuits are just one of those things that if you go slowly and carefully, you'll actually make a worse end product.

The Joy of Cooking also has some good biscuit recipes, and anyone and everyone should have a copy of The Joy of Cooking.

[Amber]

1) Muffin

2) English muffin

3) Biscuit

4) Fried Mushrooms?

I cheated and googled 4. It's deep-fried oreos, which look and sound awful.

[Sean of the Thread]

Fuck biscuits.

Get him on some southern cornbread asap.

If that's not available there's really nothing wrong with a .25 cent box of JIFFY CORN MUFFIN MIX ftw.

[Cephalopod]

Alright, you crazy foreigner, it's time to play "NAME THAT BAKED GOOD!"

For the sake of completeness, you should include these:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/hobnobs.jpg

[Tisket]

If that's not available there's really nothing wrong with a .25 cent box of JIFFY CORN MUFFIN MIX ftw.

The one and only time I tried a Jiffy mix it came with a bonus surprise. Mealworms.

Also, I am a little disappointed that there are no sexual jokes involving muffins or bisquits in this thread yet. The PC has failed me today.

[ElvenFury]

The one and only time I tried a Jiffy mix it came with a bonus surprise. Mealworms.

Also, I am a little disappointed that there are no sexual jokes involving muffins or bisquits in this thread yet. The PC has failed me today.
Biscuits + Bisquick?

[Tisket]

Shut up!

[MotleyCrew]

1) Use frozen butter and grate it on the large holes of box grater right into the dry ingredients. Don't over mix or kneed.

2) NEVER twist the biscuit cutter as you cut the biscuits. This seals the edges and prevents them from rising.

[4a6c1]

Dont eat biscuts. :(

[Kuyuk]

I hate biscuits. And I'm a Chef.

Fucking dry as fuck.

I eat my strawberries on angel food cake. And my gravy goes on toast. Fuck biscuits.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

I hate biscuits. And I'm a Chef.

Fucking dry as fuck.

I eat my strawberries on angel food cake. And my gravy goes on toast. Fuck biscuits.

I like strawberries on poundcake.

Not a huge biscuit fan unless it's for breakfast and going to be covered in gravy.

[Kuyuk]

Poundcake works too.

I'll eat them covered in gravy, but I cant say such in a ranting post about how much I dislike them, it just doesnt work.

[Keller]

I hate biscuits. And I'm a Chef.

Fucking dry as fuck.

I eat my strawberries on angel food cake. And my gravy goes on toast. Fuck biscuits.

You better eqaully hate scones.

I fucking HATE scones.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Oh I love scones, especially with clotted cream. Omfg nom nom nom.

[Kuyuk]

Scones are far superior to biscuits. And yes to clotted cream. and yes to omfg nom nom nom.

But then again, clotted cream MAY be able to make biscuits taste edible. Thats how amazing it is.

[Keller]

Oh I love scones, especially with clotted cream. Omfg nom nom nom.

It that like a dried up cream pie? /pornjoke

[Tisket]

I don't know, I'm somehow turned off of foods that include the word "clotted".

[Kuyuk]

Then you should try double cream instead ;-)

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Scones are far superior to biscuits. And yes to clotted cream. and yes to omfg nom nom nom.

But then again, clotted cream MAY be able to make biscuits taste edible. Thats how amazing it is.

Jam plus clotted cream on a biscuit is pretty damn good, actually.

[Amber]

You better eqaully hate scones.

I fucking HATE scones.

Me too. I absolutely love biscuits though, as long as they're made right.

[Cephalopod]

Clotted cream just makes me think of this one time I dumped one of those half-and-half things into my coffee, and it was chunky.

[Archigeek]

I make a kick ass biscuit that's very moist and tasty. If your chef self can't make a biscuit that isn't dry... maybe you need to stick to truffles.

[Kuyuk]

I make a kick ass biscuit that's very moist and tasty. If your chef self can't make a biscuit that isn't dry... maybe you need to stick to truffles.

I just think it's the nature of the beast. I personally dont think I've ever had a biscuit that hasnt been dry, whether I make it, or I get it from Flying Biscuit, or elsewhere, they're all too dry for my taste. I dont want to have to take a drink every time I take a bite.

[ElvenFury]

I just think it's the nature of the beast. I personally dont think I've ever had a biscuit that hasnt been dry, whether I make it, or I get it from Flying Biscuit, or elsewhere, they're all too dry for my taste. I dont want to have to take a drink every time I take a bite.
You're supposed to saturate it with butter, you vegan pussy. :tumble:

[AestheticDeath]

Kuyuk, Grands biscuits aren't dry IMO. They are huge, fluffy, and just right.

And biscuits are like the #1 bread for breakfast. No matter how you eat them. 10000000x better than toast. Unless.. it is cinnamon toast. But even then, biscuits and jam, vs cinnamon toast all comes down to how I am feeling that day, or which one I have had recently. They are both pretty good.

And btw, there are a lot of types of Grands biscuits, I figured I should say I have had in mind the homestyle buttermilk biscuits.

[AestheticDeath]

http://forum.gsplayers.com/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gif Biscuits 03-29-2010 02:10 PM Fuck you and your biscuits -Clipt

homo

[Makkah]

I just think it's the nature of the beast. I personally dont think I've ever had a biscuit that hasnt been dry, whether I make it, or I get it from Flying Biscuit, or elsewhere, they're all too dry for my taste. I dont want to have to take a drink every time I take a bite.

Ever thought about getting your salivary glands checked? As a chef, I'd figure you'd be able to gauge how dry food really is...

[Xanator]

Would also suggest trying a different brand of (preferably Southern) flour. Flour with a lower protein content is much better for quick breads, higher protein content for yeast breads. The best flour for baking biscuits, bar none, is White Lily. Don't think they sell it in Texas, but I know you can get it in Louisiana. Just buy a 5# bag of White Lily and follow the recipe on the back. Use buttermilk, and either vegetable shortening or lard. And make sure whatever sugar you use is 100% pure cane.

You basically break flour down by where it's grown. Southern flours (like White Lily, Dixie Lily, and Martha White) are mostly ground from soft winter wheat and have the lowest protein/highest starch content. National brands (Pillsbury and Gold Medal) are a blend of hard and soft wheats, and are in the middle as far as protein content. Northern brands (King Arthur, especially) are ground from hard winter wheat, and have a much higher protein content.

If you can't get your hands on White Lily, I know I was able to buy Martha White when I was living in Massachusetts. You could also try something like a 2/3 all purpose 1/3 cake flour mix. Try:

2 c. all-purpose flour (or 2 c. self-rising, and omit powder/salt)
3 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk (more as needed)

The basic rules of bread-making apply here. Combine your dry ingredients, mix well, then cut in your shortening until your flour mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Pour over your buttermilk and mix just until your flour is incorporated and the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Lumps are ok, a little bit of flour here and there is ok, just don't overmix. The dough should be pliable, but far from stiff. Add a little more buttermilk if you have to. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, toss and roll to about 1/4" thickness (don't do the to-and-fro motion, as that may overwork your dough. North, south, east, west). Cut with a floured cutter, DO NOT twist the cutter. Your cut biscuits should look like short little cylinders. Place them on a sheet pan with the sides touching. Bake 8-10 minutes in a 500º oven.

Most common mistakes people make are overworking (tough biscuits), cutter twisting (biscuits don't rise), placing biscuits far apart on the pan (clinging to each other/sides of the pan helps biscuits rise. They're not cookies), and being afraid of the high oven temp (hot oven helps them rise quickly). If you have a problem with them burning, try 3-5 minutes at the high temp, then roll it back to maybe 400º to let them finish browning.

These + sorghum syrup = breakfast win.

EDIT: Thought I should also mention. Don't ever scoop flour directly from your bag/bin/whatever for your recipe. This packs the flour slightly, and can amount to enough extra flour to cause noticeable differences in your product. Scoop/pour it into measuring spoons/cups. And even if you use self-rising flour, make sure to dust your board or whatever surface you're rolling out on with all-purpose flour. Self-rising contains leavening ingredients that can taste bitter when they're left unmixed on the outside of your product.

[Archigeek]

EDIT: Thought I should also mention. Don't ever scoop flour directly from your bag/bin/whatever for your recipe. This packs the flour slightly, and can amount to enough extra flour to cause noticeable differences in your product. Scoop/pour it into measuring spoons/cups.

Good advice. But even better yet is to measure by weight.

I may have to try that recipe.

[Sean of the Thread]

Shut up!


I would have said Biskets nom nom nom if it counts. :/